


Counting Stars

by ultraviolet_violet



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Actress Betty Cooper, F/M, Fluff, Jughead is super supportive of his favorite girl, Wicked - Freeform, bughead - Freeform, they’re in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:15:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26195494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultraviolet_violet/pseuds/ultraviolet_violet
Summary: Betty Cooper has grown up with a dream—get on Broadway. It was the one thing she had never given up on. Jughead Jones hadn’t been fond of the idea of broadway (he wasn’t one to enjoy musicals or plays). But for Betty, he would sit and watch anything she was in no matter how long it was or how much a ticket costed.When she gets her first lead role inWicked, each of them (and all their friends and family) are absolutely ecstatic and are ready for the day she shines on stage.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Jughead Jones & Betty Cooper
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	Counting Stars

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very short fluffy one shot I wrote just because. Jughead supporting his best girl is obviously the cutest thing and I had to write it at some point.
> 
> This is unbetaed so I apologize for any mistakes. All of your comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!

Thunder cracked loudly and the rain came down even harder, hitting the window quickly. It echoed through Betty and Jughead’s small flat and she was clutching to him out of nerves—but they weren’t because of the rain. 

“What if the ratings are horrible?” she whispered into the dark, staring out the window. She sat up with a sharp gasp a moment later, looking over her shoulder at Jughead with wide, scared eyes. “What if they hate me because I’m so bad?” 

“Love,” he sighed, laying her back down on the bed. His arm wrapped around her waist and he held her into him, her hands squeezing his arm in a tight grip. “You are going to blow those critics out of their seats. And if they think you’re bad, fuck them. They couldn’t become real Broadway stars so they criticize and hate on the ones who did what they couldn’t.” She whimpered, squeezing his arm tighter. 

He wanted to take all of her nerves away and wanted to flash forward to her praises and good reviews. He hated to see her worry, he hated to see her afraid, but she had been working on Wicked for months now and she had waltzed around the apartment for weeks, reciting her lines and doing her dances. 

~

Jughead hated it at first. He wasn’t a singer, he wasn’t a dancer. He liked to write, he liked silence—he envied the quiet. The last place he wanted to spend his nights were in a theatre, belting out lyrics to songs he didn’t understand the meaning behind. 

He had watched one play in high school (Betty had forced him to come) and seeing her excited, happy, gleaming up on stage as she danced around and sang with her friends was enough to convince him. Enough to convince him that he was her biggest fan and that he would dance and sing with her whenever she asked. And enough to convince him to be at every play no matter how far he had to drive, walk, bike, or fly and he would buy every ticket no matter how much they cost. 

When she had applied to Juilliard and had gotten accepted, the look on her face was priceless—he wished he could have taken a picture. 

She bounced around with the letter clutched tightly in her hand, tears wetting her cheeks as she jumped into his arms, squealing. She celebrated like it was the best thing in the world (which to her in that moment, it was) and she hadn’t fallen asleep that night out of a pure adrenaline high from excitement. 

He had applied to NYU for a writing degree (even if he wasn’t very fond of college) and had gotten in easily—how, he wasn’t so sure. So they moved to New York together to pursue two very different things. 

Being so young, they clashed heads often—they had even broken up twice. They had lived in separate apartments for two years, needing time apart and needing to navigate a relationship in a more traditional way. 

After college, they had moved in together and shortly after, Betty had started to audition for a wide variety of musicals. He was always right there with her, cheering her on and smiling proudly with whatever role she got. Even if it was small or she was just a part of the ensemble, he still clapped and cheered the loudest, grinning when he saw her bright, thankful smile. 

The auditions for _Wicked_ had appeared when she wasn’t feeling the best with her plan. Jughead had been walking home from work one day when the sign caught his eye. He took a picture, not knowing if it’d interest her or not. He had hurried home to show her and she had just shook her head, not feeling like she could do any of the roles. 

She had told him, “They need someone experienced, someone better than me. I can’t do it, even if I really do want to.” The words had snapped his heart into a billion pieces and he wanted to hurt whoever made her feel like she wasn’t worthy of her dream.

It took loads of convincing and lots more breath than Jughead thought he had, but he had managed to convince her to at least try out for an ensemble role. And he promised her she would get what she wanted when she least expected it.

He had gone with her to the audition, happy to see her spirits get lifted when she had gotten great feedback. It was all things he had been telling her from the start, but he could only help so much and sometimes an unbiased, outsider's opinion is what she needed to feel okay with herself. 

She had approached him with a happy smile afterwards, voicing how she felt she had done an okay job—a good enough one to at least be a part of the ensemble. He had reassured her that she was phenomenal (as always), and she had just blushed and rolled her eyes playfully. 

A few days later she had gotten a call.

Jughead had watched her closely, his hands behind his head as she laid on her stomach beside him in their bed, the blanket bunched down around both of their waists. She had her hand resting on her chin, a small smile on her face as she answered, “Yes, this is she.” He had laughed at the formality in the way she said the words and she had shoved his shoulder, rolling onto her back. 

He moved to kiss at her neck and she bit her lip as she listened, Jughead freezing when her eyes widened and she sat up abruptly. “Seriously? You-You want me?” He watched her with a raised brow, excitement covering her face. “Yes. Yes, of course I could come! I can be there in 30 minutes!” She laughed, giving him a shocked look. 

“What’s happening?” He had asked curiously. 

“They want me to audition for Glinda.” She squealed excitedly and a proud look fell over his features as she bounded out of bed, digging around in their dresser for clothes. 

“A lead role, Jughead! A lead!” she exclaimed as she jumped into underwear and pants. “I could have a lead role in a successful Broadway play, can you believe that?” 

She jumped around excitedly and he just watched her do so with a smile as she pulled on a bra, reaching into their shared closet for a shirt. “This is…” she scoffed, grabbing concealer. “Can you believe this?” she shouted a little too loudly as she turned to face him. 

“You are adorable when you’re excited, you know that?” Her smile only grew wider at his words and she focused on doing her makeup quickly before she rushed into the bathroom. 

She brushed her teeth and fixed her hair, hurrying back to the bed and sitting in his lap. “I love you and I’m gonna get this role.” He laughed as she cupped his cheeks, kissing him quickly. 

She skipped out the door and he laid back in their bed, content with where they were at in their life. 

A few hours later she had come back into the apartment, leaning against the door with a long nervous sigh. “Now we wait for callbacks.” she muttered with a frown, kicking off her shoes and coming to lay on top of him. “I _hate_ waiting for callbacks.” 

“Betts,” he said with a chuckle. “If they liked you the first time, there’s no way they didn’t love you this time. You’re very, very hard to dislike.” She gave him a wry smile and he kissed the look off of her face. 

Days had gone by before her callback came and she had raced out the door that morning much like she had the first time and had come back later with a frown—another callback. 

It went on like that for what felt like forever to Betty until she had gotten the last phone call. 

Jughead had been taking a shower at the time and he felt his blood run ice cold at Betty’s scream. He had shut the water off and barely had time to wrap a towel around his waist as he stumbled to the bathroom door, panting as he gripped the door frame for support. 

“What happened?” 

Her eyes were excited, her phone slipping from her hand. “I’m playing Glinda!”

“Oh my god!” She laughed and squealed, running over to him and kissing him quickly. “I knew you could do it.” She kissed him again, Jughead pulling her back to the shower with him. 

~

Betty whimpered in his arms still and Jughead snapped himself back to the moment, not noticing he had checked out for a few minutes. He kissed her cheek lovingly and she let out a deep breath. 

“Tomorrow night, you’re going to be deemed the best new actress on Broadway.” The corner of her mouth turned up just slightly and he squeezed her. “You’re going to get amazing reviews and you’re going to show everyone just who Betty Cooper is. That’s the only name they’re gonna know, you’re gonna go down in history, love.” 

“You’re gonna make my head too large.” she giggled, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “I wish my parents could have come, they were my best supporters—before you, of course.” 

He nodded, giving her a small smile. “They see you, Betts and they’re proud. They are so fucking proud.” She sighed, rolling over and laying her head on his chest. 

He held her close until she finally fell asleep, her breathing evening out and her tears going away. He had wished her parents could be there, too. They wanted her to get to where she is now just as much as he had, and this was their dream—they all shared it with Betty, they just wanted to see her succeed. 

~

“I love you,” Jughead whispered, smoothing Betty’s hair off of her face. “You are going to do amazing tonight.” She breathed deeply, swallowing thickly as she laid her head down on his chest, squeezing his waist in a tight hold. “You’re gonna have your own little crowd in the front row, Betts. Me, Veronica, Archie, Kevin, Polly, Cheryl, Toni, my mom, my dad, Jellybean…”

She sat up quickly, her eyes wide. “Your… they’re…” tears filled her eye’s and he chuckled. 

“Do you know how long they’ve been saving up for this?” She whimpered as her response and he cupped her cheeks, feeling tears sting the back of his eye as he wiped her cheeks. “Don’t cry, please don’t cry.” 

She hugged him close and he hugged her back, burying his face in her hair. “Thank you,” she whispered shakily. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” 

~

Jughead smiled at his parents, his mom pulling him into a hug, his father doing the same a moment after. “We’ve missed you two,” his mom muttered as Jughead and Fp pulled apart. 

“Is she ready for tonight?” Fp asked, tucking his hands in his pockets. 

Jughead let out a breath. “Betty is seriously ready for anything, I’m not even kidding. She’s been here all day rehearsing, I haven’t seen her since 9 this morning.” They nodded and he winced silently, glancing around the already crowded lobby. “Where’s Jelly?” 

“Oh,” Gladys responded, checking around herself. “Bathroom. She’s fixing her hair or something.” 

“I was not.” Jughead turned around at the familiar voice, pulling Jellybean into a hug. “Hey, dweeb.” 

“Don’t start.” He laughed, pushing her hat down over her eyes. 

“Where’s Betty?” 

“Backstage.” He answered as they walked forward, moving into the theatre. 

“Can we see her?” 

“No, Jelly. I wish, but no.” 

“Why not?” 

“She’s afraid she’ll cry. She already cried this morning about you guys coming, she said she wants to be distracted the first time she sees everyone.” 

“Everyone?” Jellybean gave him a questioning look and he just shrugged. “Who’s all here?” 

“You, mom, dad, Veronica, Kevin, Polly, Archie, Toni, Cheryl. Everyone.” 

“Damn.” 

“Jellybean,” he scoffed.

“I am 17, I can say damn.” She argued back and he shook his head as they pointed to their seats. “Do we get to see Betty during that intermission thing?” 

Jughead shrugged again, the two of them sitting down. “Probably not. Betty has told me specifically she will cry when she sees everyone, and I will never hear the end of it if she ruins her stage makeup.” 

Jellybean scoffed, sighing. “Fine.” 

As everyone else arrived, Jughead greeted them, giving them all small smiles. They all sat in a group of ten, Polly, Jughead, Gladys, Jellybean and Fp in the front, Archie, Veronica, Kevin Cheryl and Toni just behind them. 

They had all whispered expectantly together, Cheryl explaining to Jughead how she had the date marked in her calendar long before Betty had gotten casted for the role. “I knew she was going to get it!” she said excitedly. 

The play started just minutes later and Jughead tried to bite back his laugh as Jellybean watched with furrowed brows, her eyes widening when Betty started to be lowered down. He smiled proudly, watching intently. 

~

Betty bowed as everyone in the crowd clapped, her deep breath shaky as she put on a bright smile. The curtains closed shortly afterward and Betty congratulated her other castmates before moving back to her dressing room, crumpling to the ground with a sob. 

The door opened a second later and Jughead gave her a sad look, shooing even away before he stepped inside. He closed the door behind himself, stepping over to her. “They’re here, Betts. You know they are.” She sobbed again, clutching to him as he held her. 

“I just wish they were really here.” She whispered after awhile. 

“I know,” he muttered, kissing her temple. “I do, too.” 

She laid in his arms for long moments, sniffling and wiping her face. He rubbed his hand over her arm, and she sighed shakily. 

“I want to see everyone,” she started, looking up at him. “But I need to change first.” 

“Okay,” he said, giving her a small smile. “Do you want us to meet you outside?” 

“Can you stay, Jug?” She asked, her eyes still slightly shining with tears. He nodded, sitting down on the couch she had in the room. 

After she had changed, they met everyone outside of her dressing room, Betty gasping. “Oh my god!” She exclaimed through a laugh as they all pulled her into a large group hug. “Oh, I’m so glad you all came.” she whispered happily. 

Everyone was more proud of her than they could ever share. They could try and tell her until her ears bled, but Jughead didn’t want to risk the words becoming just thoughtless babbles, he wanted them to still hold meaning. 

So they kept the congratulations short and spent the night celebrating to show her they cared. Betty was grateful to be surrounded by so many people who loved and cared about her, even if two people were missing. 

She was forever thankful for everything that Jughead had done to help her get to where she was and for everyone else that had stuck around with her through it all as well. 

“To many more shows to come.” Jughead whispered to Betty as he raised his shot glass towards hers. She looked over her shoulder and his hand tightened around her waist, holding her down into his lap. 

She grinned, picking up her own shot glass. “To many more shows to come.” They clinked the small glasses together before downing them. They set them on the table, they two of them laughing into the kiss they shared afterwards.

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it this far, hi! I hope you enjoyed (even if it was very, very short)! It was fun to write and supportive Jughead is always great. 
> 
> Would this be something that y’all maybe want to see more of? I’m not sure if I’d turn it into a series, but let me know your thoughts. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you have a great morning/day/afternoon/evening/night! Thank you for reading!


End file.
